Thank You, Sarada
by uchisasusakusara
Summary: In which Sarada learns about the history behind the Uchiha Clan downfall, and Sasuke learns to forgive himself. A quick short story about the interactions between Sasuke and Sarada. SasuSaku and all cannon pairings implied. This is meant to be relatively fluffy and wholesome interactions. Please read and review!
1. Tadaima, Sarada

She felt it first in her sleep, the flare of a familiar chakra signature. A smile unconsciously creeped onto her face as, for some reason, her mind registered that he was home. It wasn't until a loud creak, followed by quiet cursing, was heard that her eyes slowly opened, wondering if what she'd felt was true. Sarada turned her head towards her open bedroom door in time to see a tall figure pass by in the dark. With a smile, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. _Papa was home_.

* * *

Sarada let out a tired groan as the sunlight streamed through her thin curtains and into her room. It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning and Boruto had miraculously persuaded Konohamaru to let them have the day off. Sitting up, Sarada remembered that she'd seen her Papa come home and without another moment to think, leapt off her bed and headed downstairs. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of cooking tomatoes, knowing that her mother had most certainly added the dreaded fruit into every breakfast dish she made.

"Honestly Papa, I don't understand how you can eat those things!" She huffed and crossed her arms, standing in the doorway of their kitchen. Sasuke set his cup of tea down on the dining table and turned his head towards her, a pained expression on his face. Sarada inwardly laughed at the fact that her ever-stoic father would be so sad that his only child harbors an intense dislike for his favorite food. She put her arms down, and in a second had her arms around him. "But I wouldn't mind waking up to the smell of tomatoes every day if you're back."

Sasuke smiled and hugged her back, telling her softly, "Tadaima, Sarada."

Sakura turned her head towards the two and her heart melted. It has been almost a year since the fiasco with the Otutsuki during the chunin exams, and Sasuke has started to come home more frequently. He was gone for only three weeks this time, and Sakura knew it was only a matter of a few months before he'll deliver the good news that he's home for good. She turned off the stove and opened the cabinet next to her.

"Sarada, can you help me set the table?"

Sarada let go of Sasuke and crossed the kitchen in excited strides, grabbing three bowls, three plates and a handful of utensils. After setting the table, she went to help her mother bring the food to the table and sighed loudly that they were having miso soup with tomatoes, tamagoyaki with tomatoes, salted tomatoes, and a spring salad with tomatoes. Seeing her Papa's eyes light up at the abundance of tomatoes was enough fill her with happiness, and she took her seat and began eating, careful to avoid the red fruit at all costs.

"Ne, Papa, I've had a question for a while that I wanted to ask you… Of course, you don't have to answer it if you're not comfortable of anything, but I've been doing some reading in the library and I want to ask you because I don't know if the author was biased or anything and I just wanted to know," Sarada said through a mouthful of tamagoyaki.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Sarada." Sakura said, poking her daughter's cheek. Sarada swallowed her food and gave her mother a sheepish smile before turning her attention back to her father.

"What is it Sarada?" Sasuke asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Um, well. I was wondering if we could visit Itachi oji-san today and if you could maybe possibly tell me a little bit about your family?" Sarada picked at her food while asking the question, unsure of how her father would react. After a few seconds of silence, she looked up at him, surprised to see a small smile on his face.

"Can it wait until this evening? I promised Naruto I'd see him today to go over some details from my latest mission." Sarada was off her seat in an instant, once again hugging her father, while her mother looked on in amusement. "Of course Papa! Thank you thank you thank you! You're the best!"

Wiggling his arm out of her hold, Sasuke tapped her on the forehead with two fingers. "Go finish your food," he said, happy that he wouldn't be upsetting his daughter by keeping her waiting any longer.

The rest of breakfast was an animated affair, with Sarada updating her father on mastering chidori, Sakura talking about her work at the hospital, and Sasuke simply enjoying having his family around. It was about time that Sarada learned about his family and the sacrifices Itachi had made to give him the life he now had.


	2. Welcome Back, Teme

"Good to have you back again Teme!" Naruto grinned as Sasuke walked into his office. Sasuke looked around and was unsurprised that the mountains of paperwork hadn't diminished since he left. Naruto followed his gaze around the paper-filled office and the grin dropped from his face. Trying to ignore the paperwork, Naruto asked Sasuke to fill him in on what he'd discovered.

"There were a couple of caves that had white Zetsu, similar to the one that I took care of near Konoha. Fortunately, none of them seemed to have any living white Zetsu left. As for the Otutsuki member that got away from fighting Gaara and Chojuro, I haven't been able to sense his trail."

"I haven't been able to sense anything bad that will happen either. Was there anything suspicious that you've found?"

"Not particularly, though I'm a little unsettled that everything seems so normal."

Naruto let out a loud laugh, taking Sasuke by surprise. "I think the issue is that for once in your life you don't have anything to be angsty and emo about Teme. I'll give you a break. You've done more than enough and your family deserves to have you around in Konoha for a while."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but didn't object to the offer. Scanning the paperwork-filled office once more, Sasuke reached into his messenger bag and pulled out two scrolls.

"Here. These contained more detailed information on what I've discovered in the last three weeks. If you don't need me for anything else, I'll leave you to your… paperwork."

Naruto cringed when Sasuke mentioned "paperwork" and paused for a moment, in thought. At that moment, Shikamaru entered the office, carrying two large boxes labeled "HOKAGE." He nodded a greeting at Sasuke before dropping the boxes at Naruto's desk.

"Naruto, these are papers that you need to sign and approve before the infrastructure projects can begin. They have to be done by the end of the week if we want to be on schedule." After handing Naruto a schedule, Shikamaru turned and left the office. Naruto looked at the large boxes in despair, complaining about how he already had a new batch of paperwork delivered an hour ago.

Reaching for a pen, Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke, I'll do anything you want if you help me a little here. I promised Boruto and Himawari that we would go out to eat as a family tonight and by the looks of it, I probably won't be leaving until at least midnight." Naruto's face filled with worry and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at his best friend's dilemma.

"You wanted to be hokage, idiot. You signed yourself up for this." Turning to leave the hokage's office, he was stopped when he felt a tug on his cloak. Naruto was on the floor, grabbing his cloak in an attempt to stop him from leaving.

"Please Teme! You don't know how much I need your help. I swear it'll be faster if we work together. You wouldn't want your favorite hokage to get beaten up by his kids, would you-ttebayo? Hinata's been training Hima with her byakugan and I don't even want to think about what she can do to me now!"

Sasuke glanced at the clock and saw that it was just past three. He could help Naruto out a little and be home by six to take Sarada to visit Itachi. With a sigh, Sasuke helped Naruto off the ground and set him back in his chair.

"I haven't forged your signature in a while, loser. Don't come complaining to me if you get in trouble for this."

Naruto gave his best friend a smile that could power the entire village.


	3. Dango For You

The Uchiha household was relatively quiet, with only the sound of flour being slapped on the counter. Uchiha Sarada had never made dango before, but she remembered her Papa briefly mentioning that it was her Itachi oji-san's favorite food. It filled her with a childish glee that her late uncle had such a sweet tooth, and left her wondering why her Papa hated them so much.

It was currently four in the afternoon and Sasuke had sent a message to Sarada saying he'd be home by six. Sakura was called in to do an emergency operation at the hospital, so Sarada decided that she would make something for her uncle. She didn't visit Itachi too often, usually only going when her father would be home to take her. When they would go together, she would sit in the grass by his grave, and listen to her father update him on everything that's going on in his life, smiling proudly whenever he'd bring up a new jutsu that he'd taught her.

Sarada knew that her father still had a hard time talking about his past. Since the incident at the last chunin exams, he'd been much more open to talking to her, but she had never asked about exactly what happened between him and Itachi oji-san. He would have a sad smile when he talked about her uncle, and Sarada never doubted that Papa loved oji-san very much. Smiling to herself, Sarada carefully sliced the mochi into equal parts and rolled out perfect spheres, before skewering the sweet balls and plating them.

 _They look pretty good_ , she thought, _I wonder if oji-san would like them?_ Setting the plate of dango off to the side, Sarada started to clean up her mess, knowing her Mama would have a heart attack if she saw the amount of flour smeared across every inch of the kitchen counter.

* * *

"If I'd known how much paperwork went into being hokage, I might've considered a different path…" Naruto moaned as he rubbed his cramping hand, having signed off almost 200 forms already.

"No you wouldn't," Sasuke retorted as he scribbled a messy "Uzumaki Naruto" exactly like Naruto's signature; the sharingan had its perks after all.

"You're right-ttebayo… How much more do we have left?"

Sasuke looked around him and let out a long sigh. "About six more stacks."

It was almost 5:30 and Sasuke had told Sarada he'd be home by six. Not wanting to disappoint his daughter, Sasuke stood up from his place on the floor. Raising his hand up into a familiar seal, he said, " _Kage bunshin no jutsu_." With a puff of smoke, three more Sasukes appeared in front of Naruto, each grabbing a stack of papers.

"Wait Teme, why have I never thought of using my kage bunshin to do paperwork with me? That's such a genius idea-ttebayo!"

"That's because you're an idiot."

"Hey! Don't disrespect your hokage like that!"

"Yeah whatever, just shut up and finish your paperwork."

" _Kage bunshin no jutsu_!"

Three more Naruto appeared and the group of eight began plowing away at the rest of the paperwork.

* * *

Sarada wiped the sweat off her forehead and smiled. The kitchen was spotless, the dishes were washed, and Itachi oji-san's dango was ready to be eaten. There was still fifteen minutes until Papa returned. Sarada went to her room and sat down next to her bed. Extending her arms as far as they would go, she reached for a thick book under her bed.

 _Having Mitsuki here right now would be fantastic_ , Sarada thought as she ended up stretching her whole body to reach the book. After a few minutes, she pulled the book out and dusted the cover.

 _The Uchiha Clan_ , read the cover. She had borrowed this book from the library some time ago and kept renewing it even after finishing the book multiple times. It told of the history between the Senju and Uchiha clans, the rivalry between Hashirama and Madara, the creation of Konoha, the first three ninja wars, and the downfall of the Uchiha clan. Sarada frowned a little when she flipped to the last page.

 _Shortly after the attack of the Kyubi and the death of the fourth Hokage, Konoha was once again plunged into turmoil. As the village began to distrust the Uchiha Clan, there were rumors of a civil war to be waged between the most powerful clan in the village and the village itself. However, nobody expected that the clan would be betrayed by one of their own, Uchiha Itachi. In one night, the clan was massacred, and only Itachi's own brother, Uchiha Sasuke was spared._

To Sarada, the ending was too abrupt to satisfy her curiosity. While her Papa confirmed that what was written in the book was factually accurate, he had sternly told her that Uchiha Itachi was a hero. There was nothing but good words said about her oji-san from both of her parents. Sarada chose to believe her parents, knowing they wouldn't lie to her, but that didn't mean she lost her curiosity. She wanted to ask her Papa so many questions.

 _Why did Itachi oji-san massacre our clan?_

 _Why did he spare you?_

 _How did he die?_

 _Why do you love him the way you do now?_

She was deep in thought and didn't hear the front door open and close. It wasn't until she heard someone call her name that Sarada snapped out of her thoughts. 6:00 on the dot, read her bedside clock. She felt a warmth in her heart that her Papa had come back exactly when he said he would. She put the book back under her bed, careful not to push it too far under this time, and went downstairs.


	4. Thank You, Ino

As Sarada walked by her Papa on the streets of Konoha, she couldn't help but notice that he was quieter than usual. His only hand gripped the bag that held Sarada's homemade dango, almost as if he was scared that they would fall out.

"Papa?"

He blinked a few times before looking down at her. "What is it Sarada?"

"Thank you for doing this for me. I know you're always kind of sad when you talk about Itachi oji-san and your family but I wanted you to know that no matter what you tell me you'll always be my Papa and I'll always love you."

He stopped walking then, recalling how similar the words his daughter said were to the parting words from his brother. Never taking his eyes off her, he pulled his daughter in for a hug. Sarada's eyes widened. She hadn't expected her father to react like this, especially not while they're still in the middle of a relatively busy street. A few people gave the father-daughter duo smiles as they passed by, and after what seemed like minutes, Sasuke finally let go.

"Thank you, Sarada."

The two continued on their way to the Konoha cemetery and were about to turn the last corner when a familiar voice called out to them.

"Sasuke-kun! Sarada-chan!"

Sarada turned around to see her Auntie Ino waving at them. Behind Ino was Inojin, who offered a small wave of his own.

"Where are you two headed?" asked Ino. Sarada glanced up at her father, who gave her a nod. "To visit Itachi oji-san," Sarada replied. Ino's eyes softened and pulled Sarada towards her.

"Come on Sarada, you can't visit your oji-san without flowers."

Sarada allowed Ino to lead her towards the Yamanaka flower shop. While Ino prepared a bouquet, Sarada stood by the entrance, taking in all the different colors of flowers that were on display.

 _I wonder what oji-san's favorite flower was?_

"Hyssops. They symbolize sacrifice and protection," Sasuke said quietly, as if reading her mind. Sarada glanced up at her father and noticed a distant look in his eyes, like the words "sacrifice" and "protection" triggered a wave of nostalgia for him. Sarada took the bag of dango from his hand and slipped her free hand into his larger one.

"Your flowers are ready, Sarada-chan!" Ino walked out with the most beautiful bouquet, and in the middle of the bouquet—

"Hyssops! Oh thank you Ino obaa-san!" Sarada took the bouquet and let go to Sasuke's hand momentarily to give Ino a bone-crushing hug.

"Too tight, Sarada!"

"Oops, sorry. I guess I'm learning from Mama."

Ino gave her best friend's daughter a smile. "You better get going before the sun starts setting. Let me know if you need more flowers, okay Sarada?" Sarada hummed in affirmation and Sasuke said a quick but meaningful "thank you" to Ino.

"Any time, Sasuke-kun. Tell Sakura to take a break and visit me sometime, will you? I miss her."

"Aa. I'll let her know."

Flowers in one hand and dango in the other, Sarada made her way out of the flower shop. "Come on Papa!" With one last nod to Ino, Sasuke set off after his daughter.


	5. We're Back, Oji-san

A porcelain plate clinked against stone, followed by the soft plop of two perfectly made sticks of dango. Sarada arranged the sweets in the most presentable way she could and carefully laid the bouquet next to the plate. Reaching out, she traced the engraved letters "UCHIHA ITACHI" and bowed.

"We're back, oji-san," she whispered, taking her usual seat on the grass. Sasuke knelt down and touched the gravestone, "We're back, nii-san." He let his hand linger and took a deep breath, readying himself for the bombardment of questions Sarada might have prepared for him. As Sasuke closed his eyes, he wished to Itachi that Sarada will forgive him for the stories he was going to tell her. After a moment, he opened his eyes and turned to his daughter.

"Where should I begin?"

Sarada furrowed her brows, reminding him of Sakura when she was deep in thought. She realized that while she had so many questions for her father, she had no idea where she wanted him to start. Should she ask about the bond between him and her uncle? Should she ask about the Uchiha massacre? Should she ask about her uncle first? Sensing she was lost in her thoughts, Sasuke reached out and put a hand on her head.

"Well, I could always start from my childhood?" Sarada snapped out of her thoughts and nodded at her father, signaling that she was ready to listen. Sasuke gave her a small smile and looked off into the distance before starting.

"You probably read in that book about the Kyubi attack after the third shinobi world war and how the fourth hokage gave his life to protect the village, right?" Sarada nodded in affirmation.

"I was born a few months before that attack. From what I've been told, that attack marked a turning point in the relationship between the Uchiha and the rest of the village. It wasn't the event that ultimately led to the massacre, as you know, it happened many years later. But it began a cycle of distrust among the village elders towards the Uchiha clan. You see, the only way the Kyubi can be controlled is through a genjutsu cast by the sharingan."

"But Naruto oji-san doesn't have a sharingan, how did he control the Kyubi?"

"Well, Naruto has always been one to forge bonds with others. To him, the Kyubi was another soul in need of a friend."

"Like you, Papa?"

Sasuke paused, wondering when his daughter became so good at reading between the lines. "Aa. Like me," he whispered. At the moment, Sarada felt immense gratification towards her Naruto oji-san for being her Papa's best friend.

"Papa keep going."

"Right. I wasn't aware of the growing rift between our clan and the village, growing up. As a child, I spent so much of my time chasing after nii-san and trying to win my father's approval. I would ask to tag along to every mission Itachi had, and each time he would poke me in the forehead and say, ' _yurusei Sasuke, matta kondo da_. _'_ Even if he got busier and busier, I loved him so much and I wanted to spend more time with him. I was probably the worst helicopter brother ever." Sarada let out a laugh at the last line. It was hard for her to imagine her father as a clingy child.

"Your oji-san was one of the most brilliant minds of that time. People hailed him as a genius and said that he thought like a hokage by the time he was six years old. You can imagine the burden that was placed on his shoulders as the prodigy child of the Uchiha Clan. The day I realized something about Itachi changed was when he got into a brawl with a few clan members who openly said they distrusted him. He took them down in one go, and had an aura far angrier than I'd ever seen."

"History books will never mention this, but Itachi was actually working as a double agent." Confused, Sarada asked, "Double agent? For what?"

"The Uchiha Clan was planning a coup de tat against Konoha."

Sarada gasped, unsure about what to say. All the books she'd ever read on her clan mentioned growing disagreements with the village, but none of them had explicitly stated that the Uchiha Clan wanted to start a coup.

"Itachi was working as a spy for the third hokage, who took back the title after the death of the fourth. He would pass on plans of the Uchiha coup to the village heads, all in the name of trying to find a way to stop it. He cared more about peace than anyone else. Having spent his childhood witnessing the horrors of the third shinobi war, Itachi wanted nothing more than a peace that would transcend the hatred in this world."

"Well, Itachi oji-san got what he wanted right? I mean we're in a pretty peaceful time now thanks to you and Naruto oji-san?"

Though Sasuke was thankful that his daughter gave him credit for the peace they were living in, he couldn't help but think about how he was swallowed by the curse of hatred until his final fight with Naruto. _I don't deserve this praise_ , he thought to himself, _I was just as much the reason for not having peace before._

"Papa, I know what you're thinking. Mama tells me all the time that you still don't feel like you deserve the life you have. I think that you should start thinking that you do, because I think you do, Mama thinks you do, and Itachi oji-san would probably think you do too."

"I…"

"I'm serious, Papa."

"Aa."

"Anyways, continue please."

"The disagreements escalated to the point where the village heads told Itachi that he had two choices as a member of the Uchiha Clan. He could either fight alongside his clan and risk harming the ones he loves, or he could stop the coup before it starts by killing everyone in the clan. Your uncle, he loved his family more than you can imagine… he loved me. To save my life, he reached an agreement with the village heads where he would execute the massacre, under the condition that my life be spared and the third hokage would keep me safe." Sasuke's voice cracked as he said the last sentence, and Sarada turned to look at him. Her father had never been one to show many emotions, but she could see his eyes glazing over and his face tightening to control his emotions. She scooted closer to him and took his hand, giving it a light squeeze that asked _Papa, are you okay_?

Sasuke cleared his throat and took a breath, calming down after feeling his daughter's small hand in his own.


	6. Thank You, Papa

_It must hurt Papa a lot to talk about this,_ Sarada thought, _Maybe I shouldn't push him? He told me why oji-san spared his life and why the clan was massacred so I've already learned some things I didn't know. I don't want to hurt—_

"It's fine, Sarada."

Sarada jumped and gave her father a bewildered look. That was the second time in less than an hour that her Papa had seemingly read her mind, and her heart swelled that her father knew her well enough to guess her thoughts. "Are you sure, Papa? I don't want to make you sad if it's too much to tell in one day."

"No, Sarada, it's okay. I just… needed a moment."

Sasuke glanced down at his daughter's hand holding his own. Whatever happened in the past, he had a loving wife and a doting daughter who deserved to hear his story. He felt a wave of reassurance at what his daughter had said to him earlier. _You'll always be my Papa and I'll always love you_. That was enough for him.

"Itachi was a hero. I know your mother and I tell you this all the time, but this peace wouldn't have been achieved without him. After the massacre, he left and joined the Akatsuki, a group of S-ranked criminals to keep tabs on them for the hokage. During his time with them, I had the idea that he was a crazy monster, a cold-blooded killer that slaughtered my family for power. He told me the night he spared me that I needed to grow strong enough to defeat him, and that all the time, he was pretending to be a good brother to test my skills. I didn't find out until too late that it was the biggest lie that he had told me."

"After a series of complicated events and a run-in with Orochimaru during my chunin exams, I was given a cursed seal for power and eventually left the village in pursuit of power strong enough to defeat Itachi. I left my life at the village behind, cutting all the bonds that I had formed. Being in the village with Naruto and Sakura reminded me of my family, and for a while, I felt the need for revenge ebb away when I was with my team. It was in my dreams that I replayed the scenes over and over again, eventually coming to the conclusion that I had to cut the people I cared about out in order to seek revenge."

"I spent many years with Orochimaru—"

"Wait, you were with the creepy snake dude for _years_? I mean no offense to Mitsuki or anything but I've only met him once and I already just wanted to leave. I can't believe you willingly went to him for that long!"

Sasuke chuckled and looked up at the sky. _Many years indeed,_ he thought, _many years that I want to take back_.

"I was hungry for power, Sarada. I wanted it so much I defected from the village to seek it. My entire goal the three years I spent with Orochimaru was to grow strong enough to kill Itachi for what he'd done. When the time finally came, it wasn't the outcome I expected. At that time, I hadn't developed my mangekyou sharingan yet, so I was once again lied to by nii-san when he said he wanted to kill me to steal my eyes to obtain the eternal mangekyou sharingan."

"He died during our battle, but not by my hand. I didn't know he was suffering from an illness that left his body weak and his eyesight nearly blind. He held on for so many years just so he could finish the lie he told and die by my hand. He sealed Orochimaru's curse mark within his Susanoo and collapsed. His last words to me were, ' _yurusei Sasuke. Kore ga saigo da._ "

The two sat in silence for a while as Sarada tried to process what her father had told her. Her uncle had lived a life of lies and suffering to ensure the safety of the village and the most important person in his life. Despite Kakashi oji-san's decree to honor Uchiha Itachi as a hero when he took on the role of sixth hokage, only he, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke know the real truth behind Itachi's actions. Uchiha Itachi's love for peace far exceeded the curse of hatred that the Uchiha Clan bore, and he played the role of a protector from the—

"Shadows," Sarada whispered.

"What is it, Sarada?"

"From the shadows. Itachi oji-san protected everyone from the shadows. He did it because he felt that strongly about peace and because he loved you more than you could've imagined. You're just like him, Papa!"

"Sarada…"

"No, Papa, listen. I hate that you're gone a lot, I really do. I wish that you were home more often with me and Mama and I wish that you could've been there for so many things in my life, but now I understand. I mean, Mama told me all the time when I was younger that you were gone to protect us, but I never really knew what that meant until now. You're doing the same thing Itachi oji-san did, protecting the village from the outside. You're like… you're like the hokage but not as outward as Naruto oji-san. You're the shadow hokage!"

"Shadow hokage, huh?" Sasuke felt a pang of guilt when Sarada brought up his continued absence. It was true, he had to be gone for the sake of protecting the village and protecting his family, but it hurt him to know how much his family longed for him to be home. "I don't know if that's necessarily a fitting title, Sarada."

It was silent once more as Sarada pursed her lips, trying to find a way to convince her father that she truly felt that way. After a moment, she stood up and dusted off her shorts. Reaching a hand out to her Papa, she smiled the warmest smile she could at him.

"The story isn't over yet."

"I know, Papa, but you've told me more than enough today. The sun is setting and you know that Mama's going to get worried if we're not back before it gets dark. We can come back tomorrow."

Sasuke took her hand and stood up, turning to look at the setting sun that turned the sky all shades of oranges, reds, and yellows. Telling Sarada what had happened between him and Itachi had lifted a weight partially off his shoulders, and he wondered whether the weight will be gone once she knew the whole story. He let go of Sarada's hand and poked Itachi's gravestone with two fingers.

" _Matta kondo da, nii-san_. We'll be back tomorrow."

"Thank you, Papa."

* * *

 **AN:** It's a headcanon of mine that Sarada was the one that gave Sasuke his title of "Shadow hokage" once she found out what Itachi had done to protect everyone. I also always had the idea that Sasuke wouldn't tell Sarada everything all in one day because of how much there is to say. Instead, he finds himself stunned at Sarada's patience and understanding. Please read and review! This is my first fanfiction (I'm honestly not much of a writer, but a HUGE Naruto fan), so any feedback would be appreciated!


	7. Ichiraku's

"Tadaima, Mama!" Sarada called as she and Sasuke made their way into their home.

"Okaeri, Sarada, Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura had just gotten back from the hospital and still had her white coat on. She looked more tired than usual, but her eyes lit up in the same way when she saw her daughter and her husband. Taking the coat off and hanging it by the door, she made her way to Sasuke and Sarada. She hugged her daughter and gave her husband a peck on the lips, causing Sarada to make fake gagging noises.

"Mama that's so gross!"

"What? What happened to wanting to see affection between your parents?"

"Yeah that was before I knew how disgusting you and Papa could be!"

Sasuke's face reddened slightly as Sakura laughed and kissed him again. She was happy that Sarada and Sasuke spent more time with each other. It was almost like the issue that Papa didn't love them was completely eradicated from Sarada's mind following the first encounter with her Papa and especially after the chunin exams. This was the happy family she wanted to give Sasuke and this was the happy family that she knew he deserved.

"Well, I just got back from the hospital," Sakura said, stepping away from her husband, "It's a little late to start cooking now, so why don't we go out to eat?"

"How about Ichiraku's? They have this new black tea pudding for dessert that I've been dying to try since I went last time with Naruto oji-san," Sarada suggested. Sasuke made a face at the suggestion to go to Ichiraku's, recalling how Naruto had told him he was taking his family out to dinner. It was almost certain that the Uzumaki family will be there right now.

It's not that Sasuke didn't want to see Naruto. Boruto was as rambunctious as ever and Himawari loved talking to Sasuke and Sakura nonstop about her latest adventures. Of course there would always be ridiculous banter and rivalry going on between Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke wanted to spend time with his family without the intrusion of others for one, and as he opened his mouth to shoot down the idea of going to Ichiraku's Sakura spoke up.

"Sounds like a great idea, Sarada! We haven't been in a while and I want to see Ayame-chan and ask her about her pregnancy. Is that okay Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn," he said after closing his mouth. He supposes that one night with the Uzumakis won't be terrible. After all, Naruto did promise him a break to stay in Konoha longer.

"Yosh! Come on Mama, Papa! Let's go!"

* * *

"Teme! Sakura-chan! Sarada-chan! Over here!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs when he saw the Uchiha family walk through the entrance of Ichiraku's. Sasuke and Sakura both sweatdropped at the blonde hokage's loudness while Sarada giggled and waved at him. The Uchiha family made their way over to the empty booth next to the Uzumakis and Sasuke was very careful to sit on the inside seat, as far away as he could from his hyperactive best friend.

Boruto was so occupied with stuffing his ramen in his face that he hadn't noticed the Uchiha family until Himawari yelled, even louder than her father did, "Sarada nee-san!" and was out of her seat in a moment to tackle the Uchiha in a tight hug. Ever since she'd watched Sarada during the chunin exams and proudly claimed to her parents that she wanted to be just like her Sarada nee-san, Himawari developed an intense sisterly affection for Sarada.

"Ah! Hima-chan! Nice to see you again." Sarada pat Himawari's head and smiled at the younger girl.

"Ne, Sarada nee-san, Mama's been teaching me lots about the byakugan! If I didn't know better, I would say that Papa and onii-san are even a little scared of me!"

Sarada looked over and saw the two Uzumaki males tense at the mention of Himawari's byakugan. From what she'd heard from her Hinata obaa-san, Himawari had managed to completely knock the two out cold for a day when she was only six years old.

"That's great Hima-chan! Who knows, maybe you can be my right-hand man when I become hokage, shannaro!"

"HEY WAIT! I'm supposed to be your right hand man-ttebasa!" Boruto yelled through a mouthful of ramen. Sasuke's face contorted in disapproval as he thought about the implications of what his student had just said. Sure, Boruto was a good kid, he had natural shinobi talents, and the son of his best friend, but Sarada was his daughter who was only thirteen and still too young to be—

"Sasuke-kun," nudged Sakura, "Don't over think it. They're just kids, remember. And besides, imagine how wonderful it would be if we were all family one day!"

"Hn. She's too young for boys."

"She calls Boruto _annoying_."

Sasuke froze. He had only ever called one girl annoying in his life, and now he was married to her. If his daughter was anything like him, which he knew she had picked up some of his traits, he could already see how this would end up. He got ready to tell Naruto to make sure his son doesn't say anything weird to Sarada when Sakura interrupted him once again.

"What did you and Sarada talk about today?"

"I took her to see Itachi and told her everything until Itachi's death."

"She really appreciates you telling her everything, Sasuke-kun. She looks up to you more than you know, and I hope you can see how happy you're making her by opening up to her."

"Aa. We'll continue our conversation at a later date. She needs time to process the events up to then."

"Mmm, don't underestimate our daughter."

"Mama, Papa, what are you whispering about? Can we order now?" Sarada handed her parents a menu and they noticed that Himawari had gone back to her seat. Naruto and Boruto were currently occupied with ordering a second serving of ramen, while Hinata was busy trying to stop Himawari from ordering more than she could eat.

"Aa, let's order."

* * *

 **AN:** I'm a lowkey BoruSara shipper haha. My goal for this story is for Sasuke to tell Sarada about his past in a way that he has time to understand his daughter and Sarada has time to process her father's past. I want to show Sasuke's gradual steps to forgiving himself by looking at Sasuke's interactions with those he's close to, and realizing that perhaps he does deserve the life that he's living.

Thank you CherryClementines for the reviews! I'm glad that you like the story so far, and I hope that all characters are written in-character and I'm excited to see this story develop.


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